The minor third on ukulele

m3 · three semitones · inverts to the major sixth

The course explains what this page shows in Lesson 5 · Major and minor, one finger apart.

The minor third

  1. C1
  2. E♭♭3

A minor third is three semitones, from C to E♭. Inverted, with the lower note moved up an octave, it becomes the major sixth.

Its short name is m3. Counted in letters, it spans three letter names, which is why it is written C to E♭ rather than with another name for the same pitch.

The minor third on ukulele

Along one string — three frets up
GCEA567891♭3
G to C — two frets back
GCEA34561♭3
C to E — one fret back
GCEA4561♭3
E to A — two frets back
GCEA34561♭3
G to E, skipping one — six frets back
GCEA12345671♭3
C to A, skipping one — six frets back
GCEA12345671♭3

On ukulele, the minor third is two frets back and one fret back when you cross to the next string, and three frets up along one string.

One pair of strings is the odd one out, because the gap between those two strings is different from the rest. Most players learn that exception as a rule of its own.

On the staff

CE♭

On a treble staff, the two notes are written C and E♭.

The staff shows the two notes one after the other, then together. C to E♭ spans three letter names, which is what the interval's name counts. What you hear is a distance of three semitones.

On the keyboard

1CDEFGAB1CDEFGAB1CDEFGAB1CC♯♭3E♭F♯G♯A♯C♯♭3E♭F♯G♯A♯C♯♭3E♭F♯G♯A♯C3C4C5C6

A keyboard makes this distance easy to see, where a fretboard hides it. The upper note is three keys along from the lower one, counting black and white keys alike.

C and E♭ on the whole neck

GCEA123456789101112131415C1E♭♭3C1E♭♭3C1E♭♭3C1E♭♭3C1E♭♭3C1

Eleven notes are marked across four strings.

This diagram marks both notes of the minor third, C and E♭, everywhere they fall on ukulele. You can find every pair shown above somewhere on it.

A minor third above every note

FromA minor third up
CE♭
D♭F♭
DF
E♭G♭
EG
FA♭
F♯A
GB♭
A♭C♭
AC
B♭D♭
BD

C–E♭, D♭–F♭, D–F, E♭–G♭, E–G, F–A♭, F♯–A, G–B♭, A♭–C♭, A–C, B♭–D♭, B–D

The shapes above do not change with the key, which is the reason to learn an interval as a shape. Only the note names change, and this table gives them for every starting note.

Chords built on the minor third

  • MinorCm
  • Diminished
  • Minor 7thCm7
  • Half-diminishedCm7♭5
  • Diminished 7thC°7
  • Minor-major 7thCmMaj7

Six chord types contain a minor third: Minor, Diminished, Minor 7th, Half-diminished, Diminished 7th, Minor-major 7th.

These are the chords with a minor third above their root. A chord is built by stacking intervals on a root, and a triad is the simplest case, with two of them.